Overview / 简介: |
| Mike was out chasing his ball when it bounced into a bottomless garbage can. Mike dove right in after it, and ended up in a mysterious underworld filled with alligatorsall former pets that had been flushed when their owners grew tired of them. In the end, Mike comes up with a clever plan to save the alligators, and get them back to the swamps they love. |
From Organization / 国外机构评价: |
| Grade 1–3—When Mike chases his ball into a bottomless garbage can, he discovers the world below New York City. Underground, he meets Balloonhead (Balbo for short) and other odd characters, including a doglike creature. Together they explore the tunnels and encounter hundreds of angry alligators fighting over stale bagels. Mike gets to the root of the problem: the creatures want to go back to Florida. He has the solution as well: his Uncle Ernie has a ship. The gators gather up all the jewelry, coins, walking sticks, and clothes lost in the sewers to fund a voyage. Mike and the "dog" climb through a manhole and make the arrangements. As the ship sails at dawn with 330 alligators, Mike, his uncle, and the doglike creature wave from the pier. The author relates this fantastic tale without talking down to children. The complex sentence structure and vocabulary give an added level of sophistication to the somewhat complicated story line. The simplicity of the cartoon illustrations lends balance to the whole work. Bold black lines delineate the brightly colored blocky figures. Alligators in humans' clothes, wearing jewels, and carrying walking sticks lighten the dark tunnels with friendly fun. Sophisticated young readers and their parents will enjoy this city gator tale. |
Foreign Customer Review / 国外客户评价: |
| "New York is a mysterious city, and that's just above ground. Things are even stranger in the tangle of sewers under the street..."
SO begins young Mike's tale of his Oz- or Wonderland- trip down a trashcan to the underbelly of New York City. There, he meets an unusual balloon-bodied creature by the sewer, who introduces Mike to four other oddly shaped friends. They quickly ask Mike to help them with two rival alligator factions, brought from Florida to New York by tourists, and now competing for "stale bagels and muffins" and the best sleeping spots by the sewer. Fortunately, jewels and money are not as scarce as bagels, and the 330 alligators pool their money, drop their rivalry, and buy passage back to swampy Florida, courtesy of Mike's Uncle, who happens to own a shipping company.
There are a few too many coincidences, even for a fantasy, and author Jurg Federspiel never really incorporates the balloon creature's friends into the story.
Still, Petra Rappa's rich watercolors and background washes are delightful, especially in her above ground evocations of New York City. I would have preferred that the sewers looked more sewer-like--full of mysterious pipes and passageways--but this might have been too complex for the very youngest of the intended audience. Overall, "Alligator Mike" is an interesting trip that makes unseen places seem ore friendly and familiar, and young toddlers may find it fascinating. |
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